Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

ride sharing

The Tampa Downtown Partnership and Downtowner cycled a pair of Chevy Bolts into its all-electric fleet Wednesday, promising lightning fast access for plugged-in downtown Tampa commuters. “Adding these vehicles to the fleet will reduce wait times, support increasing ridership demand and provide riders with protection from the Florida heat via air conditioning,” said Downtowner COO Travis Gleason. The app company executive said the Bolts have enough juice to go 200 miles before they need a charge, which is more than three…

Now that the 2017 Legislative Session is in the history books (for the most part), Florida lawmakers are beginning to take stock. And Palm Harbor Republican Chris Sprowls is no different. Sprowls offers his own post-Session review, in an email to supporters highlighting some of his major legislative actions in the House over the past year. At the top of the list is HB 221, the landmark ride-sharing legislation co-sponsored by Sprowls and recently signed into law by Gov. Rick…

Ride sharing company Uber is partnering with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority to bridge the so-called “first-mile, last-mile” problem. Bus riders in Pinellas Park can now use the Uber ride-sharing app to hail a ride from their home or other destination to a bus stop. The program is limited to Pinellas Park and covers half of the Uber trip from point A to point B up to $3 and it can only be used to take riders to designated bus…

As is the case with so many other issues – not least of which is the $4 million budget chasm stemming from inter-cameral differences on hospital funding for indigent services – the House and Senate still seem to be quite a ways off from passing anything resembling a unified ride sharing bill to govern firms like Uber and Lyft. Swiftly and without any commotion, House leaders and bill sponsor Rep. Matt Gaetz of Shalimar came to an agreement by which his HB…

With just six days before end of regular legislative business this Session, the House and Senate are still troublesomely far apart on legislation regarding the popular ride sharing apps Uber and Lyft, particularly if you’re an advocate for the expansion of “transportation network companies” as they are rendered in committee-speak. The Senate today passed SB 1298 by Altamonte Springs Sen. David Simmons which would increase insurance requirements beyond the now-voluntary insurance policies already they already carry. Support for the bill came well short of a…